How to get work visa for australia

Moving to Australia or any developed country can be a great experience and asset to your career graph. I know from my personal experience, a person who has international experience is usually preferred for senior managerial position in large multinationals. Sometime back i wrote a small article of finding first job here in australia and got tremendous response and queries on how to move and find job in Au. Highly skilled professionals from all over the world are looking au as their preferred destination. I got lot of queries on how to get work visa and that inspired me to share my experience on possible options available for skilled migrant moving to au.

First let me share few important and interesting facts related to au visas. 

It's easier then you think: Getting work visa for australia is far easier then other developed countries. Anyone who has applied or is in process of applying may be surprised to read it but believe me "Au work visas are easiest of all developed countries". When i was looking for migration, i considered option of US and UK apart from Australia and the complication and restriction coming with them were mind blowing. The biggest advantage of Au work visa compared to US H1B is au visa is for family rather then individual. If husband gets H1B the wife can enter US but cant work. With Au 175 visa the complete family(spouse and children) can move in Au and work. Infact for me this was the single most important reason to chose Au work visa on top of US visa.

Its damm expensive but worth it: Au PR for highly skilled immigrants (visa - 175) is quite expensive. Just the govt fee is around 2500$. Add to this the medical and Immigration consultant fee(if you hire), you are easily looking for 4000$. One has to plan finances properly. One should remember i am talking about permanent resident visa which gives visa holder and family authority to stay and work permanently in Au.


Visas Options: The most popular visa for skilled immigrant is called Visa -175. It is permanent resident visa with full authority for study and work for the whole family. Its point based system so chances of confusion is limited. Point calculator is provided on immigration website to help applicants.
    Key requirement for this visas are:

1. Four plus years of relevant experience
2. Age between 18 and 45
3. Proven english ( IELTS)
4. For people who are not sponsored by an employer

If one can find job in au and company is ready to sponsor, the visa option to choose is 176 and its requirements are easier to met

Temporary long term stay visa- 457: The big problem with 175 is it takes long time to arrive. Company cant wait for a year to get its employee on board. This visa is processed quickly and gives authority to work for the employer for a period of 4 years. While working, one usually file PR and gets his permanent visa.
   Key requirement for this visa are:

1. Require sponsor
2. Valid for 4 years
3. File new visa if one switches job 

The problem with this visa is that it is linked with the employer and one can only switch job by searching a new visa sponsoring company. 

Another trap with this visa is if the company relieves a employee then employee has only 28 days to find another sponsor for his visa else leave the country.

457 is clearly a risky option to be completely relied upon. The difficulty is the company who sponsored 457 will probably not be interested in sponsoring the PR for candidate since PR gives power to leave company :)

457 can be treated as a short term option to enter and find one good reliable company. After finding the right company who is willing to sponsor PR, you are in safe land.

State sponsor visa: Many states of au are lacking few perticular skillsets and are interested in skilled immigrants with exact match of the skills. The best part is the application of state sponsorship is usually free or affordable. Once you can secure state sponsorship, road ahead is relative easy. The only catch is the immigrant has to stay in the sponsor state for next two years.

Student Visas: Students in au have limited hours of work authority. The work limit is 14 hours for graduate program. The dependent of Phd program can work without any restriction. The conversion from student visa to PR has been quite common in the past. Students usually apply for PR after their education and get bridging visa. This visa has full authority to work and can stay till decision on PR application do not arrive.

The immigration webpage is great place to look for all the visa options available.

The rules of Visa approval is undergoing tremendous changes in recent past. The favourable immigration laws in Au is simply bcos many skillsets vital for economy are in shortage. Law makers realized that the favourable immigration policy is sometimes getting misused which has resulted in higher scrutiny and tightening of visa requirements. According to the resent rules amendment proposed by govt, it seems the students who are planning for PR are going to have a hard time ahead. The immigration law is quickly changing its rules to give priority to immigrants with skillset critical to economy.

The economic recession has a great impact on visa rules as well. The skills which were critical before are no longer in priority list since many with the same skill are looking for job. The purpose of encouraging immigration is to boost au economy and so such skills not critical in current economic times are moved to less priority processing by depatment of immigration. The dynamic and rampent changes in visa rules and priority list is a clear indication that immigration dept is very serious with the quality and authenticity of immigrants. The way ahead, it seems the rules are only going to get tighter and bar is only going to rise.

I believe it makes a lot of sense to apply for visas, at the earliest for those who are aspiring to move. Nobody knows the future but it seems the way ahead can only be a uphill.

For those who are seriously looking for Au as their destination, I would recomment visit immigration website and understand all key requirements before deciding on which visa to apply to. 

Stay tuned for more info on immigration and job search tactics to this lovely land down under. I would recomment joining the group to follow updates on my blog.